Photo credit: Dubai Sports TV
Quarterfinals-bound Strong Group Athletics - Philippines narrowly escaped the previously unbeaten Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya (4-1), securing a 91-89 victory to complete a perfect 5-game sweep of the preliminary round of the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship on Thursday, January 25 at the Al Nasr Club - Basketball Court in Dubai, UAE. [VIDEO]
Jordan Heading led SGA in a tough win with 19 points, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, to go along with 5 assists. Kevin Quiambao had another solid performance, tallying 17 points (4/7 3pts), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal while Dwight Howard made some clutch baskets and contributed 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Andray Blatche had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists in 23 minutes of play.
Strong Group advances to the quarterfinals as the top team in Group B and will have a one-day rest. SGA will face the No. 4 team in Group A, the AS Sale Morocco (2-3), in the knockout quarterfinals on January 27 at 1:15AM PHL time. [LIVE]
(to be updated...)
The Scores:
STRONG GROUP 91 - Heading 19, Quiambao 17, Howard 17, Roberson 13, Blatche 10, Moore 7, Baltazar 3, Liwag 3, Escandor 2, Ynot 0.
AL AHLI TRIPOLI 89 – Badrush 27, Sadi 22, Hodge 17, West 10, Wesley 6, Dawo 5, Ramadan 2, Abdrahim 0, Sedek 0.
Quarters: 20-27, 51-50, 74-73, 91-89. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [JORDAN]
Online Store (On Sale, Promo!)
JORDAN SHOES | NIKE | GILAS JERSEY | ATENEO MERCH
🏀 STRONG GROUP PHL Games: (PHL time)
(Jan 19) 
SGA def. UAE, 82-66
(Jan 20) SGA def. Al Wahda, 89-67
(Jan 21) SGA def. Homenetmen, 104-95
(Jan 24) SGA def. Beirut, 95-73
(Jan 25) SGA def. Al Ahli Tripoli, 91-89
(Jan 27) QF - SGA def. AS Sale, 92-80
(Jan 28) SEMIS - SGA def. Beirut, 94-72
(Jan 28) FINALS - AL RIYADI def. SGA, 77-74